21 February 2013

'A few months before I left Australia I got a letter from the bush signed
"Miles Franklin", saying that the writer had written a novel, but knew nothing
of editors and publisher, and asking me to read and advise. Something about the
letter, which was written in a strong original hand, attracted me, so I sent
for the MS, and one dull afternoon I started to read it. I hadn't read three
pages when I saw what you will no doubt see at once - that the story had been
written by a girl. And as I went on I saw that the work was
Australian...' HENRY LAWSON, from the Preface in My Brilliant Career by Miles
Franklin

A girl! An Australian girl! Wrote a novel!

Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin. Today your legacy is celebrated with the
announcement of the longlist for
the inaugural Stella Prize, the major
new literary award for Australian women's writing.

And we are dancing-in-the-house DELIGHTED that Margo Lanagan's brilliant
novel Sea Hearts is
on the list

14 February 2013

It was a sad day (for us) when Karen Healey left Melbourne to move back to
New Zealand.

Sad because we can't have her round to the House for Friday drinks
anymore, and sad because she is not in Melbourne and her AWESOME
NEW BOOK SET IN MELBOURNE is now on the shelves in real live bookstores.

When We Wake is
set in Melbourne, but not in a Melbourne that we know now, a possible Melbourne
of the nearish future.

Is it a better Melbourne? Sometimes.

Is it worse? Sort of.

Is it an intriguing place? Yes.

Is it full of characters you will love? Oh yes.

Do any of those character love each other? YOU KNOW IT.

Is there any, say, danger for those characters in this new Melbourne? Guys,
have you READ any of Karen's books? YES YES YES. Danger, love, the funny.
Tension, suspense, the playful. It's ALL here.

And it's all so good.

Karen - if you weren't on the other side of the Tasman, we would pour you a
glass of something, and say CONGRATULATIONS!

***UPDATED***

Just to hand, this awesome trailer from Little, Brown - Karen's lovely publishers in the USA! It's so cool that we'll even forgive Tegan's American accent.

It's classic children's
fantasy-adventure. Remember how you felt when you read C.S. Lewis, or T.H.
White, or Robert C. O'Brien? It's like that. We're not bluffing. Here's a
taste.

_____________

As soon as I took out the bread,
something shot past my shoulder and leapt into the tree. A face peered down at
me through the leaves: a sharp, narrow face fringed with reddish fur. The eyes
were bright and mean. If the creature sprang at me now I could fall. I broke off
a small piece of bread and threw it, and he caught it in midair.
'There, we're even,' I whispered.
'Bread for water. Now go away.'
I put half the bread back in the
bag and began eating the rest. The creature ate too, then moved closer, wanting
more.
'I need this. I have a long way to go.'
He blinked and held my gaze.
His eyes were grey-green, like the marshes.
'I have to eat. I have to get
down from here,' I told him, as I threw him another piece of bread.
The
creature caught it, then he ate slowly, looking deep into my eyes.
'What are
you?' I asked. He wasn't like any animal I had seen near the Overhang. He wasn't
a rabbit or a fox.
'You're small and sleek,' I said. 'And you are not to be
trusted. I'll call you a sleek.'
The creature blinked and closed
his eyes as if satisfied, then suddenly he sprang, snatching the remaining bread
out of my hands and disappearing down the rock face.

_____________

Okay - you have to wait until
April, but it will be WORTH THE WAIT. Seriously.

* This post contains A Clue about something else exciting happening this year for us in the House of Onion, something that we'll be talking a lot more about in coming weeks. Oh the excitement! Stay tuned.

01 February 2013

The first good thing was that the lovely Charlotte Lance, author and
illustrator of the extremely cute A Really Super Hero, baked us a cake! A
white chocolate mudcake. It was huge! And delicious! And is all gone, because we
are vultures when it comes to good cake. Thank you, Charlotte!

And then, as if cake wasn't enough, Lili Wilkinson brought in her new
puppy. Dame Maggie is a mini schnauzer, and so cute it ought to be illegal - all
wriggly and gently bitey and floppy feet. Thank you, Lili!